The Magic of the Ancients
by gomababe
Summary: Some themes taken from the old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, but not a strict crossover. When Greece uncovers something unexpected, few nations realised that this and the apparent appearance of a bunch of 'unkillable zombies' are connected.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Deep underneath the earth an ancient evil slumbers, unaware of the passage of time since its last appearance. It cares not that the people above know nothing of it or what it can do, only that someday it will be unleashed upon the world once more. The darkness stirs; someone has uncovered it and found the ancient tomb that conceals its heart. One of them got very close. The evil smirked, he would be the first to fall.

...

"A... Alfred, please slow down!" The nation of the United States of America stopped and looked behind him only to see his brother slowly catching up to him. He grinned cockily,

"C'mon Mattie, hurry up, the meeting starts in two minutes and Heroes should never be late!" he called. Canada half-glared at his twin, pushing his glasses up his nose,

"And whose fault is it that we're late in the first place?" he snapped, "I told you that stopping to get something from that McDonald's was a bad idea." He ranted. America merely laughed,

"Well we won't be late if we keep running will we?" he grabbed a hold of Canada's wrist and started running again. Canada tried to protest as his brother started his mad dash to the conference building again but never managed it as America's attention was purely on getting to the meeting before it began. With just a minute to spare America and Canada burst into the meeting room,

"And the Hero has arrived in just the nick of time!" he announced to the stony glares of half the other nations in the room. England rounded on the overly exuberant young nation,

"You bloody idiot! I told you that this was an important meeting and that you needed to be here on time!" America laughed,

"And I am on time." He replied with a grin. England opened his mouth to say something when someone pulled him back down onto his seat,

"Fer fuck's sake," Scotland grumbled, "Can we jus' get this bloody thing o'er with a'ready? I've got better things tae dae." England glared at his brother,

"Look, I don't like you being here either, so you can quit whining about it!" he snapped. Scotland merely rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the host country. Switzerland glared at America, his hand slowly reaching to his gun,

"America, just take your seat so I can get this thing started." He groused. America saluted the European nation and sat down, dragging Canada with him. When he was sure that everyone was paying him some sort of attention, Switzerland began,

"Alright, I'm sure we all know this is going to turn into a circus sideshow at some point, so I'll make this brief." He said, "Basically we're here to discuss the progress of various projects regarding renewable energy sources since we're all rather painfully aware that fossil fuels are a finite source, and I think Greece had something he wanted to say about one of his archaeological digs." He looked around the room, several nations were already bored and distracting themselves with their phones or taking naps. He sighed mentally as he continued, "If anyone interrupts a nation that is in the middle of speaking, they are going to very seriously regret it. We have a lot to get through and I'd appreciate if we didn't get sidetracked." He glared over at America at this point, who merely grinned back. Switzerland looked down at his notes, "Right then, Germany you may as well start things off." He motioned to the other nation, who immediately stood up, ruffled his notes and started to speak.

...

The meeting didn't fall into its usual chaos until about three hours in, a new record, though it was mostly because Switzerland kept threatening the nations who were about to cause trouble with his rifle. Eventually Greece was poked awake and he stood up to speak,

"This is not something many will find interesting," he said slowly, suppressing a yawn before he continued, "but some archaeologists have found something... interesting in some of my mother's ruins near Athens." Scotland shifted in his seat, this sounded promising, at least more promising than having to listen to his idiot nephew whitter on about one of his ludicrous ideas. Greece looked at his notes and blinked tiredly, "It seems to be half of a large sphere like object... it also seems to have some interesting electromagnetic properties." Scotland perked up a little at that, he was always interested in these sorts of things. America perked up as well,

"Waitwaitwait," he said, "What kind of interesting properties?" he asked. Greece looked over to the blonde nation,

"Well... it seems to attract lightning." He replied, "How, we're not sure yet, but we have a team of scientists working on that." Scotland actually sat up properly at that,

"If ye dinnae mind me askin' Greece, I'd like tae hae a gander at this thing." Greece looked over to Scotland, completely confused. England sighed and spoke up,

"He was asking if he could come over to have a look at this thing you've found." He translated, then he looked quite thoughtful, "Actually I wouldn't mind taking a look either, come to think on it." Greece blinked then nodded slowly,

"I... don't see why not. He agreed, "We could use some other opinions." Scotland grinned,

"Cool, least we got somthin' sorted oot the day." He quipped. The other nations around him that had been paying attention nodded in agreement, actually looking fairly accomplished. Greece took his seat again and Switzerland stood up,

"Well since we have actually accomplished something today, I'm going to call for a break." He said, looking relatively pleased for once. Almost immediately Italy grabbed onto Germany's arm and the rest of the nations in the room broke off into their little cliques. America bounded across the room, dragging Canada with him,

"Hey England! Do you want to come to McDonald's with Mattie and me?" he called. England grit his teeth and sighed,

"No America, I don't even like McDonald's." He ground out. America's happy grin fell a little,

"Aww but England..." he whined. England glared at the younger nation,

"No means no Alfred," he snapped, "there are plenty of other places to eat that I'm sure Switzerland's very proud of." American pouted a little,

"Ok then," he muttered, he turned to Canada, "Looks like it's just you and me then bro." Canada sighed,

"I'm sorry Al, but I've got to agree with England here." He was already well prepared for the pout his brother sent his way, "We can go to McDonald's some other time, eh?" he suggested. America sighed and continued pouting childishly,

"It's not fair, McDonald's makes the best hamburgers in the world." He muttered. Scotland chuckled as he patted his oldest nephew on the shoulder,

"Better luck next time laddie." He said before turning to France, "I a'ready ken whaur you want tae go, an' I'm game... so long as ye're payin'." France chuckled, tucking a stray stand of hair behind an ear,

"Worry not, mon cher, I was already well prepared for that." He replied with a brilliant. England snorted as he looked between the two nations,

"I'm going to see where Portugal went." He muttered, feeling a little put out that he wouldn't be able to spend the lunch break beating the frog into tiny pieces like he normally would. Canada looked fairly thoughtful,

"That's an idea," he said to himself, "I wonder what Ukraine's doing." America pouted as his twin wandered off, looking for the Eastern European nation,

"Everyone has a date except from me." He whined, "Hell, even my brother's going out with the commie bastard's sister." Scotland rolled his eyes,

"An' there's the reason why." He told the younger nation, "Ye're bratty, impulsive and far too quick tae jump tae conclusions. Not only tha', but ye can haud a hell o' a grudge; Russia's been a democracy fer the last twenty years." America glared at his uncle,

"Hey come on, that's uncalled for." He half whined. Scotland stared at his nephew levelly,

"Jus' tellin' ye like it is laddie. Somebody has tae, so we can deflate that ego o' yours." America turned red in the face, partially out of embarrassment and partially out of anger. France, seeing where this was going to start heading, grabbed Scotland's arm,

"Ok, now you've made your point, we should really get going L'Ecosse." He told the Celtic nation. American snorted,

"Doesn't matter, I was already leaving." He muttered darkly, turning around and sweeping out of the door. France watched him leave nervously then looked back at Scotland with a sigh,

"Honestly, mon couer, did you 'ave to go and piss 'im off like that?" he asked. Scotland snorted,

"Like I said, someone has tae tell him whit's whit." He looked back at France again, "Dinnae worry, love, he'll forget a' aboot it soon enough." France hummed in slight disagreement but said nothing else on the subject,

"If you say so, mon cher. Either way this is not getting us our lunch is it?" Scotland chuckled as he looped an arm around the French man's waist,

"It's no' and I'm starvin'." The two nations chattered happily as they left the conference building for their well deserved lunch break.

...

America sighed as he wandered through the streets of Zurich, hands stashed firmly in his pockets. What Scotland had said had touched a nerve with the younger nation,

"Stupid Scotland and his stupid opinions." He muttered darkly, "People shouldn't talk to Heroes like that." His thoughts were interrupted by a scream coming from a nearby side street,

"Hjälp!" American didn't think twice about rushing towards where the voice was coming from, 'help', after all, was very much an international phrase. When he got to the street, he saw several Swiss citizens were already there, guns drawn at... America's heart stopped and caught in his throat. Standing right in the middle of the street was something that haunted the nation's dreams whenever he watched a scary movie. The thing that was attacking the young woman who had screamed looked like a corpse that had been dragged out of water mere moments ago. He flinched as one of the men closest to the pair fired his rifle at the creature, aiming for its shoulder. America started shaking, his vision going blurry as not only did the wound not bleed, but the bullet didn't even seem to affect the... thing that was still holding the girl by her arm. Several of the people that had been gathered around backed off; clearly this was something that they couldn't deal with by themselves. America could feel himself wanting to bolt right back to the conference room, but when he looked at the scene again, he quashed the impulse. Scared of zombies or no, heroes did not leave innocent people to die. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, America took his pistol out,

"Everyone back off!" he shouted, raising his arm to take aim at the creature's head. The Swiss people in the street didn't need telling twice; those that were within range of the foreigner's pistol shot scrambled out of the way, those that weren't kept their own guns trained on the situation. America used his free hand to steady the one holding his pistol, took a very careful aim and fired. The bullet hit its target and with a wail the creature dropped the girl to the ground. America grinned cockily as the zombie fell back against a wall,

"And that gentlemen, is how we deal with zombies." He said, but just as he was about to put his gun away, the creature stirred and got back up with a snarl. America's face paled; that wasn't supposed to happen, zombies were always killed with a shot to the brain. The Swiss people backed up, keeping their rifles trained on the creature, though many were clearly scared out of their minds. The girl who had been attacked took the opportunity to run out onto the main street, presumably to get back-up. The zombie like creature ignored her and looked at America, snarled and started to walk towards him. America backed up, this was not good. One of the Swiss men who was closest to the blonde nation fired at the zombie and pushed America out of the way,

"We will take care of this," he told the foreigner, "Run." America shook his head,

"I can't just leave you guys to deal with this... thing by yourself!" he protested. The man turned to him,

"We are trained for this sort of thing, now go!" he snapped. America didn't need telling twice as he bolted out of the side street. He was terrified, this was not something he was equipped to deal with, and neither were the Swiss people, well trained as they obviously were. America's thoughts raced as he ran back towards the conference building. Who would be able to help him get rid of something that was clearly not natural? The first thing that came to mind was sandy hair, green eyes and a perpetually annoyed expression. England. He always believed in the supernatural and magic and things. He'd know exactly what to do. Nodding to himself, America outright sprinted towards the conference building.

...

The rest of the nations filtered into the conference room, annoyed that their break had now ended and that they had to deal with at least another three hours of boredom before they could enjoy the rest of their day. England looked around the room, fully expecting to see or hear America come bounding into the room. Scotland took his seat next to his brother,

"Whit's the matter wi' you?" he asked, "Ye look as though ye've gone an' lost somethin'." He noted. England snorted as he turned to his brother,

"I'm just fine thank you Angus," he replied shortly, "I'm just looking to see where America vanished to, he's supposed to be speaking first." Scotland snorted,

"Ye'll be lucky if he turns up," he said, "He wis in a richt proper mood when he left fer lunch." England narrowed his eyes a little,

"You pissed him off again didn't you?" when Scotland didn't reply, the younger nation sighed, "Great, now he's probably gotten himself into some sort of trouble. " he muttered. Scotland leaned back in his chair nonchalantly,

"No' my fault the bairn cannae handle ony criticism." He retorted. The Celtic nation looked over to Switzerland, who was frowning as he shuffled his papers in an agitated manner. Scotland quirked an eyebrow at that, something was obviously up. He was just about to ask his younger brother for his opinion when the doors to the room burst open and America came running in, panting. The super power stopped, looked around the room, found England and rushed over to him,

"Iggy, you've got to help me! I went for a walk and there was this girl. She was being attacked by this... zombie thing. I shot it in the head like you're supposed to only it didn't die, now half the people in the street it happened in are taking this thing on by themselves..." he babbled furiously, clearly scared out of his wits. England frowned and put a hand on his ex-charge's shoulder,

"Hang on America, slow down. You're not making any sense." He told the other nation. Scotland, who's ear was a little more trained frowned in consternation,

"I think I caught most o' that," he said slowly, "but it doesnae make ony sense..." he agreed. America took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down,

"Th...there was this zombie in one of the side streets." He said, voice wavering, "I, and what seemed like half of Zurich, tried to take it down, but it didn't die when I shot it in the head." Half the nations in the room sighed in irritation and rolled their eyes dismissively. Clearly America had fallen asleep somewhere and had a nightmare or had some sort of hallucination brought on by lack of junk food. England searched his ex-colony's face for any hint that he wasn't either lying or having some sort of hallucination brought on by his overactive imagination. Finding no sign of either, he sighed,

"Normally I'd put this down to your overactive imagination Alfred but..." he paused as he looked over to Switzerland, who was listening, but still shuffling his papers in a somewhat nervous fashion, "I believe you." He finished. America sagged in relief,

"You do? Oh man, I thought you were going to think I'd gone crazy or something." England patted the younger nation on the arm as he turned to his brother,

"Sounds like a Wight or something." He said. Scotland frowned as he thought about what America had said,

"Possibly," he agreed, "though where the hell it's come frae, I've nae clue." He sighed, shaking his head, "Either way, we're gonna have tae take a gander at it." Switzerland banged his fist on the table,

"No one is leaving until the meeting is over." He snapped, "And besides, even if what America said is even halfway true, the militia will more than take care of the problem." England sighed while Scotland scoffed at him. Both knew that very few even believed in magic any more, even when it was clearly staring them in the face. England looked at Switzerland,

"That may be true, but from America's description, it doesn't sound like this is something that can be dealt with by force alone." Switzerland snorted again,

"The idiot probably thought he'd shot it clean in the head and actually missed." America's eyes narrowed,

"You weren't even there!" he snapped, "I did get a clean head shot; the fucking thing fell to the floor and still got back up!" Switzerland was about to retort again when Finland spoke up,

"It is probably something like a Wight or something then." He said, looking nervous when everyone's attention turned to him, "But that sort of thing requires an awful lot of magic to even exist, so where's it come from?" England shook his head,

"The only way we're going to know is if we go and investigate ourselves." Scotland remained quiet, brows furrowing further as he thought. There wasn't nearly enough of a magical field around Switzerland's house to allow anyone to create a Wight, even if someone found out how to do it. He shook his head to clear it, he probably overthinking things, but something nagged at him that this was something far, far older and that much more dangerous. He was brought immediately back to the present when Italy called over from the windows,

"Vee... I think we might have a problem." He said, pointing down at the garden outside. Several nations went to the windows to see what the Mediterranean nation was talking about. Several of the younger ones screamed and scrambled back, allowing Scotland to dash over and take a look himself. Shambling up the street were at least ten of the creatures America had described followed by another, much larger creature, with eyes that burned like coals in a fire. Scotland reeled as a wave of dizziness came over him. These weren't Wights, those were created by magic. These were simply the Dead; souls that had been brought back from death to do the bidding of whoever summoned them back. The Celtic nation gripped at the windowsill when the dizzy spell passed and looked around the other nations, who were staring out of the window nervously. The vast majority of them were not prepared for this; hell even the few nations that did know magic wouldn't know how to deal with these things. In fact, Scotland mused as he looked over to China and India, he was probably the _only_ nation in the room who knew exactly what those creatures down there were. He sighed,

"This is absolutely fan-fucking-tastic." He growled in irritation, "We've got a necromancer on the fucking loose and naebody else kens or cares aboot the Charter." The red haired nation sighed again as he looked over to his brother,

"England, you and the rest o' the countries that at least ken some magic get protection spells on those doors. Those things aren't gonnae be deterred by just one set." He told the younger nation. England, for once deferring to his oldest brother's experience, nodded and motioned to Finland, Norway and Iceland. Scotland looked to the rest of the countries, who were looking at him expectantly, "A'body else, get awa' frae the windows and stay in the centre o' the room." Most of the nations complied, obviously the Scotsman knew what he was doing, though several muttered something things about 'respect' and 'heathen' under their breaths. Scotland searched the room for Switzerland, who was cleaning his rifle, "Oi, Switzerland, whit way's north?" he asked. The blonde nation looked up and pointed in the right direction,

"That way." He replied, "But why do you want to know that?" he asked suspiciously. Scotland rolled his eyes a little as he checked the other cardinal directions within the room,

"I'm gonnae try somethin' that I've no practised in a guid thousand years or so. He replied, "If it works we'll be safe." Switzerland narrowed his eyes at the northern nation,

"If it works?" he snapped, "so what happens if it doesn't?" he demanded. Scotland merely motioned to his brother, Noway and Iceland,

"Tha's why we're daein' the doors, ye eejit." He deadpanned "Now will ye kindly shut yer trap and let me think!" Scotland took a steadying breath, walked up to the wall facing the North side, took out his trusted claymore and closed his eyes, praying that this would work.

...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The nations that were trapped in the conference room watched as Scotland sketched out an odd shape just above the floor with his sword and stared in fascination as a golden light flowed down the sword and onto the floor. Scotland hummed in satisfaction,

"Still works. That's guid." He noted. England, who had finished with the protection spells he knew on the doors, frowned in confusion,

"You weren't expecting it to?" he asked, looking more closely at the mark that was still glowing on the floor. Scotland swept past him walking around to the south side of the room,

"Pretty much." He replied, "It's one o' the oldest types o' magic that still exists, though it's pretty much extinct by now." China pushed through the crowd of nations to look at the symbol on the north side while Scotland did the same thing behind him,

"Aiyah, you actually know Charter magic?" he asked, looking rather impressed. Scotland looked up and over his shoulder at the Ancient nation,

"An' I'm surprised ye even ken aboot it." He noted. China snorted a little,

"Just because I never practised it doesn't mean I didn't know about it, aru." He retorted, "I'm going to show my age here, but Rome used to tell me about how the..." he paused a little debating whether to use the other Ancient's wording or not, "well, barbarians, aru, stopped him advancing north with it." Scotland snorted as he completed the second mark and started walking over to the West side of the room,

"Doesnae surprise me. Celt did get a bit annoyed when Rome turned up the first time." The rest of the nations in the room looked between Scotland and China with a mixture of confusion, amusement and awe, temporarily forgetting about the creatures that were making their way to the conference building, until something banged on the doors. Italy flinched and grabbed Germany's arm, America grabbed a hold of Canada, and various other nations grabbed a hold of those they were closest to. England, Norway, Iceland and Finland backed up and joined the others in what was now almost a complete diamond. Scotland glanced to the door,

"A'right we'll hae this conversation later." He muttered as he hurried over to the East side of the room to complete the diamond of protection as the banging on the door got worse. The Scottish man glanced over to Canada, who was already clutching at the charm Scotland had given him just a few months earlier. Scotland glared at the doors, which were now moving with the force of the bangs against them, clearly the Dead were determined to get in. He quickly finished the diamond off, golden lines of light connecting the four marks on the floor. Scotland turned to the nations huddled behind him,

"If anyone's got some sort o' instrument wi' them, now would be a guid time tae hand it o'er." He suggested. England looked at his brother in confusion,

"Why would you need an instrument exactly?" he asked, "I doubt very much anyone brought any with them." Scotland sent him a short glare,

"Tae get rid o' those things oot there." He replied shortly, "It'd be better if I had my pipes or a set o' bells or summat, but it's been at least two thousan' years since they were last needed..." he trailed off uncertainly as the doors moved even more. At least the defensive spells on the doors seemed to be holding for the moment. America fished around in his pocket,

"Well, all I got is this old harmonica." He said. Scotland took it as the younger nation waded through the crowd and handed it to him. He looked it over and sighed,

"No' the best thing in the world, but it'll hae to do." He muttered, blowing into it experimentally and checking the notes. Satisfied that he could work out the notes he needed, the Celtic nation turned back to the doors, keeping his claymore drawn. England fished around in one of his pockets and brought out a battered old black book,

"Well, we may as well be prepared to help out." He said as France glanced at the book warily,

"I know you are eager to use that thing again Angleterre, but..." he winced as England rounded on him with a glare, "normally you would be using a circle, oui?" England snorted dismissively,

"Stupid frog, I don't really need a circle for all of the spells in here. They're useful for focusing it, yes, but I think I can manage without." Finland squeezed Sweden's hand as the much larger nation glanced down at him protectively,

"Don't worry Sve," he assured his 'husband', "I'm sure Scotland knows what he's doing." Norway snorted from beside them,

"He'd better or we're in a whole heap of trouble." He said, "Magic in this world is weak enough as it is." Finland looked at his free hand with a sigh, the other nation was right. Even Finland could feel his own magic waning throughout the year, and it had been fairly weak the last few Christmases as well. He sighed,

"It's weak, but at least it's still around." He replied, "That should be enough." The banging on the doors continued until one of them finally gave way. One of the creatures tried to step inside, only to thud against an invisible barrier. England smirked triumphantly,

"Try to get through that then." He crowed, obviously rather pleased with himself. Scotland rolled his eyes,

"Aye, aye, very guid England, I just hope it holds." He snorted. England glared at him,

"Of course it'll bloody hold; there's four of the same spell." Scotland glanced at the doors worriedly as the largest of the creatures came to the front. It looked at the barrier and poked it. When it realised there was a spell on the door it smirked. Scotland looked at his brother,

"Try tellin' that tae the Mordicant." He said flatly as the largest creature merely banged against the invisible barrier once and broke through. Several nations screamed in alarm as the creatures flooded into the room, while several others drew their guns and/or swords. Romano had even brought out his rosary and was clutching onto it, silently glaring at the creatures as they looked at the diamond of protection on the floor. The largest of the creatures looked up from the diamond, saw Scotland and smirked at him,

"So the Charter still exists?" it asked silkily, "That's good. I do like a challenge." Scotland glared at the creature, drawing his claymore into a more protective stance,

"Well that's guid, because ye're gauin' back tae Death in a few." He retorted. The Mordicant scoffed,

"And how do you expect to do that without any bells?" it asked, "You might be able to get rid of the Lesser Dead here, but I'm much more powerful than that." England strode up beside his brother, eyes blazing,

"There's more than just him you know." He snapped. The Mordicant looked at England thoughtfully,

"With no Mark or knowledge of the Charter how do you expect to do that?" it asked silkily, clearly amused. Scotland shot his brother a short glare,

"Does it really matter?" he asked, "It only needs one tae ken." The Mordicant smiled,

"You can certainly try, but that diamond won't last forever." It leered, causing several nations behind England and Scotland to huddle together and look at the two Britons nervously. What did the thing mean by that? Scotland's glare deepened as he brought the harmonica up,

"An' that's why ye's a' need tae be guid little Dead and go back tae Death a'ready." He snapped, quickly blowing into the harmonica. A long, clear note rang out, causing the smaller creatures to stop moving altogether and causing the larger one to stop for a brief moment. Scotland stopped playing the note to take a breath, which was all the time the Mordicant needed to slam a hand against the barrier. The diamond on the floor wavered for the briefest of moments, but held strong. Scotland smirked up at the creature,

"Gonnae have tae dae better than that." He quipped before blowing the same note directly at it, the Lesser Dead already well under the spell. The Mordicant growled as he stopped moving altogether as the note finally bound him to Scotland's will. Scotland replaced his semi-triumphant look with a scowl, "Noo, back tae Death wi' the lot o' ye." He snapped as he blew into the harmonica again, this time a lighter note that caused the creatures to start jerking their legs. Scotland quickly grabbed a hold of England as the younger nation's legs started to jerk,

"Much as I dislike ye, I dinnae need ye following after them." He quipped happily as the creatures wailed and vanished. The Mordicant glared at Scotland,

"You have not seen the last of me!" he cried as he finally disappeared. Scotland merely waved as the Mordicant finally vanished. He stood there grinning for a moment before he half collapsed to the floor, sweat dripping from his hair and nose. England quickly helped his brother to sit as the diamond flickered and vanished,

"Word tae the wise wean." he panted, "Dinnae try tae dae a' that at once when ye've no practised it fer over a millennium." He winced as France tackled him, quickly followed by about half the nations in the room. England laughed as Scotland squawked in indignation from underneath the pile,

"Will ye's a' get the fuck OFF!" he snapped. Eventually everyone, bar France had gotten off the Scotsman and backed off, grinning happily. America laughed loudly,

"Well that takes care of those idiots." He exclaimed, "We won't be hearing from them again." Most of the other nations around him nodded. China frowned a little, he'd heard about sending creatures similar to this back to where they'd come from...

"Scotland, aru?" he asked, causing the Celtic nation to look up at him wearily,

"Aye?" he replied, still half trying to get France to let go of him already. China smirked a little at the scene, but became more serious again after a moment,

"That is the last we've seen of those things, aru?" he asked warily. Scotland sighed and shook his head,

"No' likely," he admitted, earning him a scared look from his oldest nephew , France, England and several other nations who had been happily chatting to one another nearby, "I only sent them back tae Death, I'd need a set o' bells tae make sure they dinnae come back at a'." China heaved a sigh,

"That's what I thought, aru." He muttered with a frown, but then he smiled broadly at the other nation, "Still, they're gone for now, so we can at least get out of here." Scotland smiled back then looked over to Switzerland, who was still holding onto Lichtenstein's shoulder. The Swiss man nodded,

"No point in staying when the whole meeting got interrupted." He said shortly. Scotland nodded back,

"Tha's true. Are there ony mair o' those things gauin' aboot?" he asked. Switzerland looked thoughtful for a moment or two and shook his head,

"No," he replied, "it seems the one America ran into followed the rest here." He said. Scotland nodded more curtly,

"That's guid." He said, "Wouldnae dae us any guid if there were ony more o' them." Italy, who now looked a little less scared, piped up from beside Germany,

"Why did they come here in the first place?" he asked. Several nations looked accusingly at America, who held up his hands,

"Hey now guys, I have no idea if they followed me or not. I was too busy running for my life to notice." Scotland finally managed to stand, France helping him up,

"I dinnae think it had anything to do wi' America." He said, "There's probably some necromancer oot there that kens at least one of us knows Charter magic. Or has at least worked oot whit we are." Romano scoffed, still holding onto his rosary,

"Someone bringing the dead back?" he asked derisively, "Please, how would anyone even know how to do that, especially in this day and age?" he snorted, "Nothing against them, but ordinary humans are pretty damned stupid." Scotland raised an impressive eyebrow at this,

"Humans bein' stupid is probably whit caused a' this in the first place. Either that or someone's woken something up that would be far better off staying asleep." He yawned, "Either way, we still hae a necromancer on the loose and we're best dealin' wi' the situation afore it gets too out o' hand."

...

"Oh mon amour, you looked completely exhausted." France cooed as the two nations, along with England, America and Canada made it back to the Scotsman's hotel room. Scotland sighed,

"Feel it an' a'." He muttered, "Forgot how much it tak's tae even keep that damned diamond up." England sighed as he opened up the door into the bathroom to get his brother a damp towel,

"Well, at least we got back here safely enough." He muttered, "Still, I am quite curious..." he said as he poked his head around the door, "This Charter magic, isn't something I've heard off before." He said doubtfully. Scotland snorted from his bed, arms laid across his eyes as he fought the urge to doze off there and then,

"Ye never got a chance tae." He replied, "Rome snatched ye awa' afore Celt could tell you or Wales onything aboot it." He sighed heavily, "It wis a'ready on it's way oot by then anyway, so it wisnae really a big deal." Canada sat down on the edge of the bed,

"So if it was already almost completely extinct, then why would someone suddenly find out how to summon up the Dead in that way?" he asked. Enlgand and America looked at the youngest nation as though trying to work out who he was, while France looked at his 'son' in mild confusion. Scotland raised one of his arms to look at his nephew properly,

"Tha' whit I've been tryin' tae work oot. It doesnae make ony sense. The only Book of the Dead still in existence is locked awa' in the basement o' one of my Highland homes. The rest were rightfully destroyed durin' the Crusades." America wrinkled his nose,

"Why was it a good thing they were all destroyed?" he asked. Scotland snorted in amusement,

"Laddie, it's a book that tells ye how tae raise the fuckin' Dead. It's pretty damned dangerous in anyone's hands. Even mair if they actually ken whit they're daein'." France hummed thoughtfully as he threaded his fingers through Scotland's hair,

"Then perhaps they were not all destroyed." He suggested, "All it takes is for someone to take one and for it not to be missed, oui?" England stared at the blonde nation in amazement,

"My God, you actually have a brain in there." He exclaimed, tapping France on the head as he handed his brother the damp towel. France glared at England while Scotland gratefully took the towel and draped it over his forehead,

"Canada's smarter than America, so whit does that say aboot you?" he asked, smirking at his brother as the younger threw him a nasty look,

"Oh do shut up." He muttered, "Aren't you supposed to be going to sleep anyway?" Scotland sighed,

"I would if ye's a' shut the hell up and let me." He retorted tiredly. France gave the red haired man an apologetic smile,

"_Désolé mon amour, vont dormer_." He said quietly, stroking at Scotland's hair again in an affectionate manner. England tried not to gag at the scene, seeing his brother and worst enemy like this always left a foul taste in his throat. Scotland merely hummed tiredly as he finally relaxed and fell asleep almost immediately. America looked at the scene, sighed and stretched,

"I suppose we'd better get going, it's been a long day and I'm pretty tired myself." He said. England nodded,

"I quite agree, I'm just going to go find Portugal to ask him something, then I think I'll turn in for the night." He looked over to France with a disapproving look, "I take it you're staying in here then frog?" he asked. France shot England a slightly disapproving look but nodded anyway,

"Oui," he confirmed, "I want to make sure Ecosse will be alright." He looked back over to the sleeping nation with a fond expression. England sighed and rolled his eyes as he finally remembered Canada was in the room as well,

"What about you Canada?" he asked his former colony. Canada smiled as he got up,

"I'm heading back to my own room," he replied, "I still need to check on Kumajiji and I want to read up on a couple of things before I turn in for the night." England nodded as he started to walk out of the room after America,

"Alright then lad, I'll see you in the morning." He said, waving to the younger nation. Canada waved back and turned to France,

"I'll see you in the morning papa." He said, "Do make sure you go to sleep too, eh?" he said. France beamed up at the younger nation,

"_N'inquiétez pas Canada; votre papa dormira bientôt_." He assured his ex-colony, "_Bonne nuit._" Canada smiled as he exited the room, taking care not to disturb his uncle,

"_Bonne nuit papa."_ He called quietly just before closing the door. The Arctic nation sighed as he made his way back to his room. It had been a very long day and now he was looking forward to going to bed. But first, he needed to do some research on what exactly had happened this afternoon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Canada sighed as he opened the door to his hotel room. It had been a very long day and it looked like things were going to get even more surreal than usual. He looked around the room and found his polar bear companion looking out of the window,

"Kuma," he called, "what's the matter?" he asked when he realised that the bear's fur was standing halfway on end. The bear turned his head to look at his master,

"Big trouble." He replied simply, turning back to stare out of the window. Canada frowned, Kumajiro did have a knack for telling when things weren't right, but often the bear would choose to ignore it. The Arctic nation walked over to the window and followed his companion's gaze,

"I don't see anything. What kind of trouble anyway?" he asked. The little bear snorted,

"Trouble in the Charter." He replied tersely. Canada frowned at him, confused,

"How do you know about that?" he asked, "I thought uncle Scotland was the only one who knew about the Charter." Kumajiro looked back at Canada and shook his head,

"Complicated." He said, jumping down from the window, "I'm hungry." He said, pawing at Canada's leg impatiently. Canada continued frowning at his companion in confusion, but sighed and made his way over to his case,

"Good thing I brought something for you to eat then." He muttered, opening the case and taking out a tin of mackerel and a bottle of maple syrup. Kumajiro waddled over and sat down nearby, looking expectantly up at the blonde nation. Canada sighed again as he opened the tin, found a bowl and dumped the fish into it. He looked up at the bear as he poured the maple syrup over the fish,

"I'm still confused, but I guess I'll ask what you meant later." He said, putting the bowl on the floor, "In the meantime you can help me look something up." Kumajiro flicked an ear as he ate the fishy gloop up, an indication that he'd heard the nation. Canada shook his head and made his way over to the desk, opening up his laptop and bringing the internet up,

"Might as well start looking then, eh?" He muttered as his hands danced over the keyboard, typing in his search terms into his browser.

...

It was early afternoon before Scotland woke up. The Celtic nation, snorted a little, turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but the light coming in through the curtains got into his eyes. Giving up, Scotland sat up and rubbed at his eyes, trying to stifle a yawn,

"Good afternoon, mon cher," a cheerful voice greeted him, "I take it you slept well?" Scotland soon found the source of the voice; France sat on the couch, a cup of coffee in his hand, grinning at the Scot. Scotland grunted in reply, clearly not yet fully awake. France snorted in amusement and got up to put the small kettle on the table on,

"Switzerland 'as cancelled the meeting for today. 'E said 'e 'as to talk with his government about what happened yesterday." Scotland, who had by now gotten up and put a T shirt on looked up at his lover,

"I'm no' surprised. It's kindae difficult tae cover up the fact that there wis a whole bunch o' dead things goin' roond." France sighed as poured Scotland a mug of coffee,

"I 'ave to admit that I am a little concerned though, cher." He said, "Especially since you seem to be the only one who knows what is going on." Scotland mirrored the blonde nation's sigh,

"I really wish I wisnae," he admitted, "but Charter magic wis only ever practiced by Celt, Scandia and Germania way back when, and even then they didnae use it so much." France handed Scotland the mug and sat down on the couch again,

"I wonder why you were the only one who was taught anything about it." He said, looking a little confused. Scotland shrugged,

"I'm guessin' it's because the last o' the great Charter lines were only found in ma hoose. The Clayr died oot ages afore I came into existence and the Abhorsen line died oot when the dead stopped crossin' back o'er intae life when I wis a wee bairn." He took a sip of the coffee and sat down opposite France, "The only Charter line that still exists is the Royal line an' even then it's so watered doon it might as well no' exist at a'." France raised an eyebrow at that,

"Royal line?" he asked. Scotland nodded,

"Aye, passed doon through Robert the Bruce, through the Stewart line." He replied, "The Charter's passed doon from parent tae child, it doesnae matter if the parent is male or female, it gets passed doon regardless." France nodded,

"That makes sense, but then why doesn't the Charter exist more strongly if that is the case." Scotland shrugged again,

"People stopped believin' in magic." He replied simply, "When that happens, the power has a tendency to wane awa' until there's nothin' left." He looked down at his hands with a heavy sigh, "It's the reason why England, masel', oor brothers and Finland are the only ones wi' any significant magic left. Even then it's fadin' awa' and it's becomin' mair difficult tae cast anythin'." France gazed at Scotland, a slightly guilty expression on his face as he watched Scotland stare into his mug sadly. The awkward silence was only broken when a rather flustered England came barging into the room, carrying what appeared to be a fluffy white cat by the collar, a small blue merle collie trotting in on his heels,

"Scotland, these two... creatures said that they wanted to talk to you. They appeared in my bedroom from out of nowhere." The cat scoffed,

"If you know what's good for you, you'll put me down this instant." It hissed, glaring daggers at the nation. Scotland looked up in surprise,

"Wait... Mogget? He asked, "Whit the hell are ye daein' here?" he demanded as England practically threw the cat onto Scotland's bed. The cat quickly recovered and turned to Scotland,

"Oh I don't know, probably because there's trouble in the Charter you little nitwit." It replied sardonically. The dog sighed and trotted over to Scotland's side,

"Mogget, behave yourself." She snapped at the cat, who merely glared at her. The dog turned to Scotland, a much more amiable look on her features, "Suffice to say, the cat has it right, there is a major disturbance in the Charter. Something that we haven't sensed since the last time He was set loose." Scotland frowned at the dog, but before he could ask anything France spoke up,

"What are you two?" he asked, looking a little nervous. Scotland looked at France and smiled gently,

"Dinnae look sae panicked love, these two are on oor side." He assured the blonde nation. He pointed over to the cat, who was watching the scene with narrowed eyes, "The cat is Mogget, an auld Free Magic being that wis bound tae the Charter lang afore I wis around. He's a wee bit on the grumpy side, but he cannae harm ye." He nodded to the dog, who wagged her tail at France in greeting, "The dug ca's hersel'..."

"The Disreputable Dog." She interrupted, sidling over to France's side, "I'm a Free Magic creature, the same as Mogget here, but I'm also a part of the Charter, not bound to it like the kitty cat is." Scotland snorted as France slowly reached out to the dog and began to pet her,

"Again, somethin' that's been around fer longer than I have." He added. Mogget stretched and looked around,

"There should be one more around somewhere, though where he's got to..." Dog turned to look at Mogget, her eyes half lidded as France scratched behind her ear,

"He's got other duties Mogget," she replied lazily, "No doubt he'll be along when his charge shows up." Scotland frowned between the two magic creatures,

"I thought you two were the only ones that could freely cross tae this world?" he asked. Mogget opened his mouth to reply when the door behind England opened again. Canada poked his head around the door, his polar bear companion at his feet,

"O... oh, am I interrupting something?" he asked, causing England to jump about a mile in the air and round on the poor man accusingly,

"America, you blithering idiot! I thought I taught you to knock before coming into someone's room!" he yelled. Canada shrunk back defensively,

"B... but... I'm not America." He squeaked. Scotland sighed and rolled his eyes,

"England, fer fuck's sake, tak' another look will ye?" he snapped, "That's Canada." England stopped his rant and looked more closely at the nation cowering in front of him. Noticing that it wasn't America, as he'd first thought, his angry expression dropped to a more guilty one,

"Oh, Canada, lad. I did it again didn't I? I'm sorry." Canada cautiously inched forward,

"I... it's ok England, I really should have knocked first, but Kumajuma..." the bear at his feet snorted,

"It's Kumajiro." He retorted with a slight sigh. Canada shrugged,

"Anyway, Kuma pushed the door open before I could knock." He finished. England stepped aside to let his ex-colony through the door. Mogget sat up, his tail twitching, while Dog looked over her shoulder to see the bear sit down next to the younger nation's feet. Dog's expression brightened immediately as she bounded over to the polar bear,

"Ah there you are!" she yipped happily, "Been ages since I last saw you." Kumajiro touched noses with her briefly,

"Been busy." He replied, looking up to Canada, who was watching the scene in utter confusion, along with the other nations in the room. Mogget snorted, his tail twitching again,

"Yes, yes, it's wonderful for this happy reunion, but may I remind you both why we're even in the same world in the first place?" he snapped. Kumajiro stared at the cat levelly,

"Nice to see you too Mogget." He sighed. The cat jumped down from Scotland's bed and stalked over to the Celtic nation, who was still staring at Kumajiro in complete confusion,

"How many know of the Charter now anyway?" he asked, "We might as well work out how much backup we have." Scotland looked down at the creature,

"Uh... s'fer as I ken..." he said slowly, knowing that Mogget was not going to be impressed by his answer, "Just me." He finished, his voice almost too low for anyone to hear him, his ears turning red in embarrassment. Dog's previously happy expression dropped immediately,

"J... just you?" she asked. When Scotland nodded silently, looking at the floor, she whined a little, "But how? Celt wasn't the only one who knew Charter magic. What of Scandia, of Germania?" she asked, her voice rising. Scotland looked up at her sharply,

"I dinnae ken why they didnae pass the lore on." He snapped, "Needless tae say they didnae and Rome decided tae be the big man an' tak' o'er pretty much half the known world, killin' off whit little wis left." He scowled out of the window after his rant, leaving the rest of the room in stunned silence. Mogget stretched and washed himself for a moment before he finally spoke,

"Well, that complicates matters." He said lazily, "Still, the Charter exists and the skills can still be taught to those with the right sort of talent." He said, looking over to Kumajiro, who stared back at him levelly,

"It's up to Scotland." He said slowly, "Depends if he wants to teach." He looked to the Celtic nation, who sighed,

"I wouldnae mind teachin' onyone." He said slowly, still looking out of the window, "But I ken exactly who ye're gonnae suggest and I'm no' daein' it." Kumajiro sighed, while Mogget sneered at the red haired man,

"Those that have the talent have to be taught." The cat said with some finality, "Unless you want this world and all those connected destroyed?" Scotland rounded on Mogget with a scowl,

"Course I dinnae ye eejit." He snapped. Mogget sneered at him,

"Then you have no choice." He replied. Scotland looked as though he was going to continue the argument, but relented with a heavy sigh,

"A'right fine." He muttered. He looked over to his brother, who had been watching the exchange with growing uneasiness, "Wee ane, go tell Finland, Norway and Iceland tae meet us in the bar doonstairs, tell them it's important." England nodded and strode out of the room. Scotland turned to France,

"France I really dinnae like askin' ye this, but can ye go get New Caledonia and bring her doon tae the bar as well?" France frowned at his lover in confusion,

"Will I regret asking why, cher?" he asked warily. Scotland sighed wearily,

"I'll explain when we get everyone else thegither." He said, "I'm sorry, ghradan, I dinnae want tae get her involved but..." he looked over to Mogget with a scowl. France laid a hand on the Celtic nation's cheek softly,

"Don't worry mon couer, I will go and fetch her." He said with a gentle smile. Dog trotted over to his side,

"I'll go with you." She said, "I would like to meet some of the others that will be at this meeting." France chuckled as he patted Dog,

"I could use the company." He said genially, giving Scotland a worried glance as he walked out of the room. Canada shifted uneasily as his uncle frowned, looking out of the window again,

"U...uncle Scotland, are you alright?" he asked quietly. Scotland sighed and shook his head,

"I wis hopin' I wouldnae have tae get ye involved in this Mata." He replied, his voice heavy. The blonde nation went over to sit beside his uncle, Kumajiro trotting along behind him,

"Why not?" he asked. Scotland glanced over to him and gave him a weary smile,

"It's no' that I dinnae want tae teach ye Charter magic,I've actually been dyin' tae teach ye the basics fer ages..." he trailed off as he looked down to Kumajiro, who simply gazed back at Scotland, "It's just I ken whit Mogget's gonnae suggest seein' as ye're connected tae the bear." Mogget jumped up beside the red haired nation,

"You're going to have to pass that knowledge along at some point, Alba." He said, almost gently, "We need a remembrancer and you know the Charter that Kumajiro's connected to." Scotland sighed heavily. It was true; he had indeed made the connection the moment that Kumajiro had greeted Dog and Mogget. The little bear was a remenant of one of the Charter, and the worst possible one, as far as the older man was concerned, at that. He wondered vaguely why he'd never noticed before now. Canada looked between them, confused,

"What are you talking about, eh?" he asked, "Pass what along?" Scotland looked up at his nephew, a small smile on his face,

"I'll tell ye after we've met wi' everyone else." He said, "We'll hae a talk aboot the current situation first." He looked to the door and grimaced, "France is gonnae have ma balls when he finds oot." He muttered sardonically as Canada nodded, got up and started to walk out of the room. Scotland shook his head and followed after him, picking up Mogget and letting the cat rest on his shoulder. The cat hummed as he settled down,

"Better your balls than the world." He reminded the nation. Scotland ignored the comment, concentrating on facing up to the enormity of the situation that faced him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Scotland had never dreaded walking to a bar in his life, he always enjoyed the banter that went on in these places, but with the news he had to share with those that were going, he wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Canada carried Kumajiro and looked at his uncle worriedly,

"A...are you ok uncle Scotland?" he asked warily. Scotland glanced over to him and gave the Arctic nation a weak smile,

"I'll be fine Mata, dinnae you worry aboot me." He chuckled. Mogget snorted but didn't say anything as the two nations finally made it to the bar. Scotland looked around, only for Canada to tug on his arm and point over to a table nestled in the far corner of the bar,

"I think that's them over there." He said in a low voice. Scotland nodded and nonchalantly made his way through the crowd gathering at the bar itself until he reached the table in question. It was only then that he noticed there were a few more nations than he'd thought there would be sitting there. Scotland didn't have time to ponder this as a small object threw itself at him and wrapped its arms around his legs,

"_PAPA_!" New Caledonia squealed happily, looking up at him with a grin and then noticing Canada and throwing herself at him too, "_ET MON FRÈRE_!" Canada laughed as he put Kumajiro down and hugged the little island Territory,

"_Nouvelle Caledonie, comment ca-va_?" he asked. Scotland grinned happily at the pair before making his way to the table, sending France a pointed look as Spain tried to work out what was going on from beside him. France chuckled,

"Ah, I bumped into Espagne and Romano on the way down 'ere and they wanted to know what was going on." He explained. He pointed over to England, who was trying to stop Portugal from glaring daggers over to his brother and explain the situation, "And _cher Angleterre_ ran into Portugal." He added. Scotland frowned a little,

"I wanted to keep this small." He hissed to the blonde nation, who merely shrugged,

"I could not really get rid of them_, mon couer_." He said. Dog poked her head out from under the table,

"I rather like them myself." She said, her wagging tail brushing up against Scotland's boots. She looked up to Romano, "Besides, this one might be useful." She noted after sniffing at the Italian nations hands. Romano scoffed a little,

"Che, 'this one' has a name _cane stupido_." Mogget leapt down from Scotland's shoulders and stretched lazily,

"Oh and how might he be useful exactly?" he asked, "No trace of any sort of magic at all." He snorted. Dog sent the cat a reproachful look,

"No need to be helpful Mogget." She replied sarcastically before returning her attention to Romano, "No, there's just something about you that I don't think the Dead will like very much." Romano gave the animal a confused stare. Scotland hummed as he seemed to work out what Dog was talking about,

"That'll probably be the fact that he houses the Vatican." He said, leaning on the table, looking thoughtful, "The mair recent Dead recognise that and will likely want tae stay as far from it as possible." Romano flushed a little,

"W...Well those things are an abomination against everything it stands for." He stuttered. Dog merely seemed to grin up at him and wagged her tail again,

"Well, we can use all the help we can get." She yipped happily, causing Romano to flush a little darker and Spain to start cooing over how he looked 'just like a little tomato'. Canada and New Caledonia eventually sat down at the table and Scotland decided to grab everyone's attention. He grabbed an empty glass and banged it on the table, causing everyone around it to look over at him,

"Right, most of everyone here wis at the conference hall yesterday and kens whit happened. To the few that wernae, including the cat, dog and bear, I might as well fill ye's in." He waited for the shudder around the table to settle before continuing, "Bascially we've got a Necromancer on the loose that seems tae have found a copy o' the Book. Dinnae ask me how or why, I've nae clue." He said, glaring to Mogget, who looked as though he was going to say something. The cat shut his mouth and pretended to start washing himself. Satisfied that he wasn't going to get any sarcastic comments from the creature, Scotland continued, "Either way, we need to find oot a few things; firstly, how they got a copy of the Book in the first place and secondly, work oot how we're gonnae stop them before they decide to wreak havoc onywhere else." Iceland sent the British nation an icy look,

"All very well and good, Scotland. But you could be telling this to everyone in the conference hall." He said. Scotland sighed a little,

"I see yer point, Iceland, but the fact remains that the Dead are bein' raised by a means that wis lang forgotten. Precious few nations even hae the Sight any more, never mind ken the Charter." Finland sent Scotland a curious look,

"I've heard it mentioned before, but I never looked into it." He said. Scotland gave the Fin a surprised look,

"Aye?" he asked. Finland nodded,

"Oh yes, it was a very, very long time ago though, back when Scandia was still around." He explained, "I remember him telling me one of his old stories and he mentioned something called the Charter in it." Mogget gave the nation an appraising look,

"He never said any more about it?" he asked. Finland shook his head,

"No, he just said it was an old legend, something that happened a long time ago in another part of the world entirely." Scotland sighed a little,

"No' much tae go on, but it's a start at least." He sent Finland a small smile, "Anyway, gettin' back tae ma point; those few nations that actually hae the Sight can still be taught Charter magic. Enough, at least, tae help oot should this Necromancer decide to raise an army o' the Dead against us a'." England snorted,

"And those that don't?" he asked sardonically. Scotland glanced over to France, then Spain,

"Can get around tae practising' wi' the auld weapons." He replied simply, "And maist likely get around tae teachin' the few nations that have never used them afore." France gave his former Ally a quizzical look,

"May I ask why, _mon cher_?" Scotland finally leaned back in his chair,

"Modern weapons, particularly things like guns and other mechanical things, won't work when there's Charter magic flyin' aboot." He explained, "It'll be the same deal wi' things like tanks, cars, modern ships etc." Portugal seemed to brighten a little at this,

"So if we need boats..." Scotland grinned back at him,

"Oh aye, sailing's the way tae go." England, catching onto Portugal's enthusiasm, grinned as well,

"Fantastic, I've been meaning to take one of the old girls out for a quick tour for ages." Scotland chuckled,

"Well I ken exactly whit I'll need tae concentrate on wi' you then." He said, "Luckily the stuff that deals wi' working the weather and winds is relatively easy and ye should pick up on it wi' nae bother." Spain looked over to England and Portugal nervously,

"Are you sure it was a good idea to tell them that, _mi amigo_?" he asked. Scotland looked at him and leered a little,

"Whit's the matter Spain, scared?" he asked. Spain sent him a short glare,

"No, just being cautious." He snipped, "You know what those two are like when it comes to sailing." Scotland shrugged,

"Whitever keeps the wean from moanin' at me a' day." He ignored the death glare Spain sent him and turned to the Nordic nations,

"I should really only need tae teach you lot the basics, and probably how tae send the Dead back tae Death at the very least." Norway nodded,

"I wouldn't mind. We're so far North that we'll have plenty of warning." Mogget looked at them curiously,

"Do any of you have Sight, as in being able to see future events?" he asked. Scotland watched the cat as none of the Nordics replied,

"It doesnae matter Mogget..." the creature cut him off with a low hiss,

"We could use all the help we can get." He snapped, "The Clayr lived in their areas." Scotland sighed, not really wanting to mention the fact that they Clayr had long since died out. Eventually, however, Finland raised a cautious hand,

"It doesn't work very well and it's mostly to help with my other duties." He said quietly, shrinking back as Mogget looked him over. Eventually the cat nodded,

"It'll have to do." He muttered, "I'm sure I'll misremember a lot to do with what the damned girls did, but we'll manage." Scotland nodded and looked over to Romano, who glared back at him,

"I ken you dinnae hae the Sight or anythin' but Dog's right, ye can help oot quite a bit." He noted, "If it's a'right wi' you I'd like tae discuss somethin' related tae a' this." Romano frowned a little,

"Like what?" he asked sulkily. Scotland raised an eyebrow, but kept his temper, he'd heard enough about Romano's to know not to push him,

"Well a necromancer will need bodies tae create some o' the Dead creatures." He said, "I can talk tae you aboot it a bit later seein' as it's a... delicate topic, if ye catch ma drift." Romano glowered at the Celtic nation but slowly nodded. Satisfied with that for now, Scotland turned his attention to France, who was gazing at him with an unreadable expression,

"I think I know what you're going to tell me, _mon cher_." He said, sighing a little, "And I should have expected it really." He looked down to New Caledonia, who had been quiet as she listened to the bigger countries talk. Scotland heaved a heavy sigh,

"I'm sorry France, but I wis hopin' that I wouldnae need to teach her anythin'." He said quietly, looking at the table guiltily. France reached over and tilted his love's head up,

"It's quite alright, _cher_, I know this was the last thing you wanted." He said. New Caledonia looked up at Scotland,

"Papa?" she asked, looking a little nervous. Scotland turned his attention to his daughter,

"It's a'right, lass," he assured her, "Yer auld faither's just bein' silly." He said. He motioned for the Territory to come and sit next to him, Canada silently moving to the side so an extra chair could be pulled up. New Caledonia sat down next to Scotland and looked up at him. Scotland sighed inwardly, but he put on a smile anyway and brought his face to her eye level,

"Noo, Amber I want ye tae listen carefully, a'right?" the little girl nodded, "There's some dangerous stuff goin' on and I want tae teach ye somethin' that'll help tae protect ye, but ye have tae promise that ye'll be a guid lassie and dae as ye're told, a'right?" Again the girl nodded,

"_Oui, papa_." She agreed. Scotland smiled and ruffled her hair a little,

"Ye're an awfie guid lassie." He said, "In the meantime," he trailed off and looked over at Dog, who was watching him expectantly, "I want ye tae stick close tae Dog. She'll protect ye until I can get around tae teachin' ye masel'." New Caledonia looked over to the collie, who wagged her tail encouragingly. She grinned,

"I will Papa." She said. Dog wriggled under the table until she was standing in between father and daughter. The Free magic creature looked to Scotland,

"Don't worry, she's in safe paws with me." She yipped. Scotland smiled and patted Dog gently,

"It's a' I can ask." He replied. France beamed over at the scene, satisfied that his little Territory would be safe too. Scotland whistled to get the attention of everyone around the table,

"I dinnae ken how much time we'll have tae get everythin' sorted oot." He said, "We're a' busy nations after a', but we need to make sure tae set aside a date tae meet up again once we ken mair aboot the situation." The other nations gathered around the table muttered amongst themselves for a few moments until Portugal spoke up,

"How about the day after the next European conference?" he asked, "It's being held in my house anyway and I can easily find somewhere quiet for you all to talk about this." England beamed at him,

"Gabriel, you are an absolute godsend." He exclaimed. Portugal grinned back,

"Well, _meu amore_, I try." He replied. Scotland could hear Spain trying not to gag from behind him, and bit back an amused snort. Instead the Celtic nation cleared his throat,

"Well if that's the earliest we can manage then I'll have tae concur wi' that." He said. "Ye dinnae mind if Canada comes along dae ye Port?" he asked. Portugal shrugged,

"Not really that fussed." He replied, "If you need more space for more people then just let me know." Scotland nodded, that sounded like an idea. He turned to his brother,

"England, d'ye ken if any other countries would be of ony use?" he asked. England turned his attention to his oldest brother,

"Besides Wales and Ireland you mean? Well there's New Zealand for starters, possibly India, South Africa, America will likely want to get involved, Australia too if New Zealand's coming along..." Sotland nodded, grabbing one of the napkins on the table and a pen from his pocket and scribbling the names of the nations concerned down. Spain piped up from behind him,

"If you need more nations that can fight then Prussia's a good one." He added, "Then again, that will drag in Germany and North Italy as well." Romano glared at Spain,

"No way! I'm not having the two Potato bastards getting involved, and like hell I'm getting my brother involved either!" he snapped. Scotland shrugged,

"They're ones tae keep in mind just in case though." He replied. France looked quite thoughtful,

"If we're going to be asking India, then we might as well try China and Japan." He said slowly, "They're two of the oldest nations around and they might know some things we don't." Scotland nodded, adding their names to the list,

"That's an idea, China wis aroond the same time as Rome and a' that lot, I'll definitely be wantin' tae ask him a few questions anyway." He muttered, then he thought of something, "Actually, I'll add Egypt and Greece as well, just in case their mothers told them anythin'." He said. England looked over New Caledonia's head at the list,

"That seems like it should be enough for now." He said, "If anyone else wants to get involved we'll take it as it comes." Scotland nodded. The list did seem very long, but then again it was only a fraction of the nations that currently existed. He folded the napkin up and put it in his pocket along with the pen,

"If anyone wants tae try gettin' a hold o' that lot, be my guest, I'm goin' tae be pretty damned busy." He said. He looked at his watch, it was still early yet, but he had to catch a plane home the next morning, and he still hadn't packed everything, "I suppose we'll leave it there fer now." He sighed. The rest of the nations around the table nodded and got up. Scotland turned to Romano,

"Can I get yer number tae arrange tha' meeting at a'?" he asked. Romano scowled at him but handed the Scot a piece of paper,

"Just so long as it's not raining when you do, haggis bastard." Scotland chuckled,

"Guid luck wi' that, I get a' four seasons in the one day normally." He replied. Romano scowled at him, but allowed himself to be lead away by Spain, who was eager to get something to eat. Once everyone else had left, besides himself, Canada, Mogget and Kumajiro, Scotland turned to Canada,

"Sorry ye didnae get a word in edgeways laddie." He sighed. Canada shook his head,

"It's ok, I was quite content to watch." He replied. Mogget stretched lazily,

"Well now most of that's been sorted out, I could do with some fish." Scotland glared at the cat momentarily,

"Ye'll have tae wait then." He said, "I've got tae pack still and I'm no plannin' on eatin' until after it's done." Canada chuckled a little,

"It's ok Mogget, I've still got some cans of tuna in my room. I brought extra in case Kuma needed them." Kumajiro looked up at Canada,

"Who?" he asked. Canada sighed a little in irritation,

"I'm Canada." He said, "The guy who feeds you." Scotland patted his nephew on the shoulder,

"Never mind lad, he'll get it one o' these days." He chuckled, "Fer now though, I need ye tae meet me fer lunch. There's somethin' I need tae talk tae you about... alone." He said. Canada gave his uncle a wary look,

"O... ok, I'll meet you there in about, half an hour?" he asked. Scotland nodded,

"Guid, if ye run into yer brother or onyone else, try tae gie them the slip eh? This isnae somethin' I'd like them tae ken aboot just yet." Canada nodded slowly, trying to work out why Scotland was being so secretive all of a sudden. He pushed it to the back of his mind for the moment, he's get his answer soon enough,

"Alright uncle Scotland." He agreed, "I'll see you in half an hour." Scotland smiled as he waved the younger nation off, Mogget giving him an appraising look as he dashed off after the blonde. Scotland sighed and shook his head as he made his way to his own hotel room,

"Why do these things always happen tae me?" he muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

30 minutes later Scotland finally made it into the lobby of the hotel. He smiled ruefully as he noticed Canada sitting in one of the couches next to the window, looking out at the view dreamily. The Arctic nation didn't seem to notice that Scotland had arrived and jumped when the older man coughed to get his attention,

"O...oh, uncle Angus, you scared me." He said. Scotland chuckled as he looped an arm around his nephew's shoulder,

"It's quite alright Mata, you were a million miles awa' there." He said as Canada started to walk out of the lobby and into the bustling streets of Zurich.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Canada asked. Scotland shook his head,

"I'll tell ye as soon as we get someplace we cannae be overheard." He said apologetically, "I ken ye're eager tae find oot, but I'd rather make sure no one else kens, at least no' yet." Canada watched his uncle's face warily, he knew there were some things the older nation was reluctant to talk about, but he had never been this secretive before. He decided to say nothing more about the issue as it was clear he was going to get his answers soon enough.

...

Canada watched as Scotland finally seemed to relax and take a sip of the glass of whisky he was finally given by the waitress serving them,

"Tha's better; nowt like a decent scotch tae start the afternoon off." He chuckled. He set the glass onto the table and looked over to Canada, who shifted uncomfortably under his uncle's scrutiny. Scotland sighed as he leaned back in his chair,

"I wish I kent whaur tae start wi' this, like." He muttered, "But I might as well start at the beginning, eh?" Canada snorted slightly in amusement,

"That would probably help." He agreed, taking a quiet sip of his cola. Scotland smiled at the younger nation and ran a hand through his hair,

"Well ye a'ready ken a wee bit aboot the fact that Charter magic exists, but there's another type that's even aulder than that." Scotland finally said, "Afore the Charter wis created, Free magic ruled o'er everythin', which caused quite a bit o' chaos seein' as it's no' exactly the best thing tae be messin' aroond wi'." He explained. Canada nodded listening carefully as Scotland continued, "Free magic is how necromancers can bring the Dead back frae Death tae create a' kinds o' havoc, as ye saw yesterday." Scotland took another sip of his whisky, "The thing is, Free magic isnae evil, but it's no' exactly guid fer ye either, it just exists as it a'ways has done." Canada nodded again,

"Kind of like how wild animals can't be good or evil because they have no concept of it, they just do whatever their instincts tell them." Scotland beamed at his nephew,

"Exactly, Free magic can be used whichever way ye like. Ye can use it tae either bring the Dead back or, if ye use the Free magic that's bound tae the Charter, tae send them back." He sat back and the bright smile left his face, "And that's where this conversation comes in." He sighed. Canada frowned a little in worry,

"And why does that worry you so much?" he asked. Scotland looked up at the blonde nation with a tight smile,

"Let me ask ye one thing Mata. Ye mind way back in WWI, back in the trenches at Vichy?" Canada nodded slowly, wondering what Scotland was getting at. Scotland rested his chin on his hands ang gazed at his nephew with a somewhat mournful expression, "I noticed that ye seemed tae notice something that... wisnae exactly this world." He said slowly. Canada reluctantly cast his mind back to the battle at Vichy. It wasn't his favourite part of hi history, for good reason, but he was curious as to what it was Scotland was talking about. The blonde nation frowned as he remembered the first few minutes of the battle,

"Now that you mention it, I did sort of think I was standing in some sort of river for a few moments when the battle started..." he trailed off as he watched his uncle's face fall, "Uncle Scotland?" he asked. Scotland sent Canada a weak smile,

"Sorry Mata, but I wis kindae hopin' I wis wrong about my suspicions. Suppose it helps oor current situation though." He sighed, "If this necromancer has friends or decides to cause mair havoc, I'll need a hand tae keep it quiet." Canada frowned,

"And how can I help exactly?" he asked, confused. Scotland leaned back in his chair again,

"I'm gonnae teach ye some basic Charter Magic, but seein' as ye seem tae have inherited the ability tae go back and forth intae Death I'm goin' tae have tae teach ye how tae manage it. I might as well teach ye how tae send the Dead back intae the place at the same time." Canada blinked in surprise,

"I... what?" he asked, realised almost too late that he had actually managed to raise his voice. Scotland grinned at him,

"Gonnae have tae shock like that mair often if I want tae make sure a'body hears ye." He chuckled as the younger nation flushed at the heads turning in his direction. Canada smiled at Scotland as he ducked his head slightly in embarrassment,

"Well at least I got heard, eh?" he laughed, "But still," he looked more thoughtful, "What on earth do you mean by what you said?" he asked. Scotland sighed again,

"Pretty much what I said. It's no' somethin' that I'm entirely happy about, mind you." He ran a hand through his hair, "France is gonnae hae ma balls when he finds out, richt enough. Bein' able tae go back and forth intae Death is no' exactly the nicest ability tae have, and I really dinnae want tae have tae explain it tae yer faither." Canada sighed,

"I suppose Papa just doesn't like to think these things exist for the most part." He admitted, "He never really believed magic existed, never mind anything like this." Scotland smirked a little,

"At least he doesnae deny it exists outright." He retorted, "Still, tryin' tae explain this is gonnae hurt." The Scottish man winced. Canada smiled a little,

"I'm sure papa won't be quite that bad. He trusts you." He pointed out. Scotland returned the smile,

"Aye, he does." He sighed. He looked up at Canada again, "Ye're handlin' this better than I thought you would." Canada shrugged,

"No point in worrying about it," he replied easily, "I knew there was something iffy about that whole experience. Besides, I want to help out." He said firmly. Scotland breathed a sigh of relief,

"Ye're a guid laddie Mata." He said, ruffling the young man's hair affectionately, "I honestly dinnae ken how we'd a' cope withoot ye sometimes." Canada swatted his uncle's hand away,

"I'm sure you'd manage somehow." He said. Scotland beamed at him,

"Either way, I'm glad I managed tae get that off ma chest, it should make things a lot easier tae deal wi'." He checked his watch,

"I'd best be headin' back, got a flight tae catch wi' England in the morn'." The Scot rolled his eyes. Canada smiled,

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, try getting a flight with Alfred." He sighed and glared off out the window, "Never mind travelling with a child, I'd rather travel with an overexcited puppy than deal with him on a 17 hour flight. At least the puppy's cute." Scotland outright laughed at that,

"True enough, guid luck wi' that." He chuckled. Canada pouted at his uncle,

"Gee... thanks." He deadpanned, which just caused Scotland to laugh even more. When he finally calmed down Scotland wiped at his eyes,

"Well, ye might as well enjoy yer last hours o' freedom wi' yer auld uncle then, eh?" he suggested. Canada beamed at the older nation,

"Might as well." He agreed, "I still say I can manage more maple beer than you ever could." He quipped. Scotland grinned,

"Tha' a challenge laddie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Canada mirrored the grin,

"Maybe." He sang, grinning more as Scotland got up and started to stride over to the bar,

"Well then laddie, ye might want tae put yer maple syrup whaur that mouth o' yours is." Canada snorted,

"No problem, just don't come crying to me in the morning." He retorted as he followed after the Celtic nation. Both got up to the bar, the light of competition burning in their eyes. The barman sighed, it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I know it's been ages since I last updated this fic, but things got pretty hectic and I got distracted by other plot ideas. Filler chapter is filler, but hopefully it can make you all smile anyway. Protip: Never piss off a hungry Canadian. Especially if you have a history between you.

...

Scotland rummaged about in the chest he'd finally managed to find in his cellar. The Celtic nation muttered darkly as dust blew up his nose, causing him to sneeze. Mogget sat on top of a pile of boxes nearby,

"I hoped you'd keep a better track of where you keep everything." He said, washing behind his ears. Scotland looked up and glared at the Free Magic creature,

"An' you're bein' a great help here." He retorted sarcastically, "Noo, shut up and let me look in peace." He snapped, pushing some other books of magic aside, muttering to himself the entire time. Ireland came into the cellar, flicking through an old book he'd found in one of the other rooms,

"So tell me again why you're looking for this book?" he said flicking over to another page. Scotland sighed as he sat back up,

"I need tae make sure it hasnae gone missin' fer one thing, and I need it tae brush up on some o' the things I've forgotten." He replied, "An' stop actively readin' ma books!" Ireland rolled his eyes, but complied and put the book he'd been holding down,

"I'm still a little confused as to how whoever it is has managed to get a hold of a copy of this book." He sighed, "Doesn't make any sense." Scotland shrugged,

"Since when did anything' tae do wi' magic make ony sense?" he replied. Mogget snorted as he leapt down from his perch and sauntered to the door of the cellar,

"Honestly, between the countries that have the Sight, I'd have thought that at least one of you would have worked it out by now." Ireland turned around and frowned at the cat, while Scotland rolled his eyes,

"Aye, it's no' like Charter Magic's been dying oot fer the last twa millennia." Scotland said sardonically. Mogget said nothing as he disappeared into another part of the house. Ireland shook his head,

"Tell me again why Ma didn't just kill him off?" he asked. Scotland snorted in amusement,

"Ye ken whit she wis like around animals, even when they were tryin' tae kill her." He said, "Besides, he's still under the control o' the Charter so long's he's wearin' his collar, and he's required tae help us oot." Ireland gave an overly dramatic sigh as he sat down on a pile of boxes,

"The t'ings we get to put up with eh?" he chuckled, only to squawk a few moments later as the pile of boxes gave way under his weight. Scotland laughed as he watched his brother try to get up, "Glad you t'ink it's funny!" he snapped. Scotland got up and helped the other red haired nation to his feet,

"Sorry Eire, but that wis classic." He chuckled. Ireland glared at his brother for a moment, before chuckling himself,

"Well I suppose it was inevitable, these t'ings always happen to me." He blinked as he caught sight of something on the floor next to his feet. He grinned as he picked the object up, "And I reckon I've just saved ye a lot of bother."

...

England sighed as he waited for his boss to stop yelling on the other end of the phone,

"Look, it's only for an extra day I don't see why..." he was quickly interrupted again. The nation rolled his eyes as he let his Prime Minister continue yelling at him, miming the man to Wales, who was desperately trying not to laugh from the other couch. When the yelling stopped again, England finally found an opening to end the phone call, "All right, since you put it that way, I'll arrange to come right back after the meeting... Yes, and I'll cancel everyone else's flights too, don't panic... Yes sir... I know... All right you have nice day too." He sighed irritably as he was finally allowed to hang up, "Well _that_ went well." He muttered, throwing his mobile onto the other side of the couch. Wales sent his brother a sympathetic look,

"I suppose telling him exactly why you need an extra day in Portugal is out of the question?" he drawled. England snorted,

"I'm sure the Prime Minister would be thrilled to hear me whitter on about magic and the fact that we essentially have someone raising zombies to take over the world." He replied with as much sarcasm as he could muster. The British nation sighed heavily as he flopped onto his back, leaning over the arm of the sofa, "Scotland is going to kill me when he finds out that none of us can get to that meeting." Wales shrugged,

"Nowt any of us can do, 'specially if the Boss Man is in such a bad mood right now." He replied sagely, "Though, to save you the bother, I'll let Scotland know. He's less likely to go punching my lights out at the news." England sent his twin a grateful, if tired smile,

"Thanks Wales, that'll let me get on with contacting Gabriel and some of the others so we can try arranging something else."

"No problem Lloeger." He replied, "The least I can do, 'specially if things decide to go to shit in between now and then." England groaned as he flopped his arm over his eyes,

"Please don't remind me."

...

Canada frowned as he read the email France had sent him;

"_Canada,_

_Mon, petit, I am afraid to inform you that the meeting Ecosse arranged in Portugal has been cancelled until further notice. Apparently the Prime Minister threw a fit when he noticed that Angleterre had arranged transport for his brothers as well as himself. _

_I am sure dear Eccose will let you know what will happen, when he has worked out an alternative._

_I hope to find you well when we next meet._

_Francis Bonnefoy_

_France._

_P.S. Tell Amerique to stop bothering Angleterre. As much as it would normally amuse me, it is getting tiresome dealing with Angleterre when he has been binge drinking."_

"Another day in Europe I guess." He muttered as he watched Kumajiro sleep on the foot of his bed, "So glad I don't have to deal with that." Looking at the clock, the blonde decided that now would be a good time to get something to eat, he nudged Kumajiro gently, "I'm going to get lunch, you want anything Kuma?" he asked. The bear merely snorted and nuzzled further into the covers before falling straight to sleep again. Canada sighed, "I'll take that as a no then." He muttered as he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. When he entered the room, he was not at all surprised to see his brother sitting expectantly at the table, rifling through a gaming magazine. The Canadian sighed heavily as he went straight the fridge,

"I suppose I don't even need to ask why you're here then?" he asked, taking out the milk and some eggs. America looked up from the magazine,

"Dude, I didn't even hear you come in!" he exclaimed before quickly answering his brother's question, "And, really Mattie, I'm not here for the reason you think I am." He followed this statement up with a pout. Canada raised an eyebrow,

"OK so if it's not for a free lunch, then either Mexico tried to steal Texas again, or you pissed Cuba off over some stupid misunderstanding, which I get to deal with the next time I visit him." America snorted,

"No it's not them either, but if Mexico tries to steal Texas again I'm going to throw her right back across the border, girl or not." He muttered. Canada bit back a snort of laughter, he knew that America wouldn't dare do such a thing, lest Spain get wind of it. Instead he settled for turning to his brother and leaning on the counter,

"So if it's nothing to do with Mexico or Cuba, why are you even here?" he asked, already dreading the answer he was suspecting,

"Well, since someone's raising all these zombies, I figured that I might as well come and help protect you from them." He quipped. "I mean; I know you've got an army and all, but you really need a Hero during these difficult times." Canada sighed... yep, it was the 'you're too weak to defend yourself' excuse. The Canadian turned back to making lunch as he replied,

"Alfred, I know that you think you're trying to help, but I can take care of myself just fine." He said pointedly, "Winter's on its way and I really don't think the 'zombies' like the cold very much." He added, hoping to get his brother to drop the subject. America, however didn't get the hint,

"But Maaattieee," he whined, "What if they don't freeze solid like the ones in my movies do? You've really got to be prepared for anything." Canada rounded on his brother and glared at him,

"I said, I can take care of myself Alfred." He repeated waspishly, "Now just drop it before I start getting annoyed." He warned. America, although getting the hint this time, decided to press on,

"Look, all I'm saying is that we have no idea when or where these things are going to strike next, and we need to be prepared for that. The only person that can even get rid of those things is Scotland, and it's not like he's going to just tell us how he did it." Canada folded his arms, his glare deepening,

"How about this? He won't tell _you_ because you would never believe a word of what he tells you and blow off everything he would try to teach you, even if he could be bothered to try." He said, waiting for America's response. America's ears went red at this,

"And you know him soo well that he'll just turn around and tell you?" he asked sardonically. Canada properly glared at him this time,

"Pretty much, yeah. Unlike you and the rest of the world, Uncle Scotland actually takes notice of me and doesn't forget that I exist half the time. And honestly? Jealousy doesn't suit you Al." America stood up, hands on the table,

"Why would I be jealous of you being so close to a nation that technically isn't even a country and who's completely lost it? Personally, I think that you hanging out with him all the time isn't doing you any favours." Canada stood up to his full height at that,

"Care to explain what you mean by that?" he growled. America snorted and waved his hand airily,

"Just saying that hanging out with someone like Scotland so much might explain why you're so invisible to the rest of the world. No one takes any notice of anyone that can't and won't govern themselves." Canada clenched his hands, looking at the floor,

"Get... out." He ground out between clenched teeth. America flinched a little but held his ground anyway,

"Just telling you like it is bro, I'm only trying to do you a favour." Canada looked up at his brother again, a barely held back fury glinting in his eyes,

"I'm only going to tell you once Alfred. Get out before I do something I'll regret later." He spat. America, recognising the look in his younger brother's eyes, backed up and picked up his aviator jacket,

"I... I guess we can talk about this later then?" he squeaked. Canada growled again,

"Alfred..." America took the hint and rushed out of the kitchen,

"SeeyoulaterMattie, gotthingsIneedtotakecareof. Okbye." He called as he rushed out of the house and into his car to start the drive back to his own house. Canada took a deep breath, shaking as he calmed down again. Why did America have to push him so far anyway? Finally deciding that he wasn't all that hungry any more, Canada replaced the milk and eggs and shuffled back to his room. He petted Kumajiro as he passed and collapsed onto his bed, hoping that he would be in a better mood after a nap.


End file.
